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At the end of this month, Avast will end product enhancement support for older consumer versions of Avast Antivirus – we will not be ending security support for these products. Customers will continue to receive threat updates and will continue to be fully protected. The versions are 8.0.1497 and lower of the following products: Avast Free Antivirus, Avast Pro Antivirus, Avast Internet Security, and Avast Premier.

People using older versions will continue to receive virus definition updates and be protected. However, we recommend everyone to upgrade to the new version to benefit from better detection rates and new features.

Update to Avast 2015 for maximum protection.

A good antivirus program is a necessity to protect your Windows PC from malware attacks, to keep your computer running smoothly, and to protect your online identity and personal data. Over the past 3 years, Avast engineers have improved our database of known virus definitions, the mechanism in which zero- day and widespread malware are detected, and the frequency of streaming updates sent to our customers. Avast 2015, with its unique Home Network Security feature which scans your home network for potential risks, is our best performing security product yet.

After May 31st, 2015, Avast will no longer provide patches or technical support for versions 8.0.1497 and lower. Please update to the latest version so you can benefit from the enhanced features and higher detection rates that protect your computer from malicious attacks. This update is also recommended because the latest version is compatible with Windows 10.

If you are running an older version of Avast, you can easily move to the latest version of Avast 2015.

How to check for the latest version and do a program update

If you need to update later, here’s a quick way to do it.

Right click on the orange Avast ball icon in the system tray.

Select Update from the menu and then click Program.

The update screen in the Avast user interface shows you the overall progress of the program update. When it’s done you will be asked to restart your computer. Click Yes to reboot immediately. Once the computer is restarted, information about the update may appear. If you are using a paid subscription, then your protection will be valid for the remaining period of your subscription.

Version 2014 update

Veriosn 8 update

Version 7 update

Why to upgrade

Better detection rates

Easier technical support

We fixed bugs and problems that still might exist on your current version

If you prefer an older version of Avast and require technical support, you will still receive virus definition updates and be protected, but our support team will ask you to update the product first before we can assist you.

Are you ready to make the move to Windows 8.1? Reviews says that with Windows 8.1, Microsoft made some significant improvements, including restoring the much-missed start button. Make sure that your upgrade experience goes smoothly by installing avast! 2014 first.

Avast! 2014 has Windows 8.1 certification which ensures that it meets compatibility standards and performs well on the Windows platform. Older versions of avast! Antivirus do not carry that certification, so if you update to Windows 8.1, it will disable avast! and you will be unprotected.

Make sure you stay protected when upgrading to Windows 8.1

Update to avast! 2014 before you upgrade to Windows 8.1. Here’s how:

Open the avast! user interface

Click on the Maintenance tab

Click Update Program

The Update screen shows you the overall progress

When it’s done, you will be asked to restart your computer. Click ‘Yes’ to reboot.

Once your computer is restarted, you might be asked to install Google Chrome as your default browser. We recommend this safe browser, but you have the option to decline.

Click ‘Continue’ to complete the upgrade.

After this, the latest version of avast! Antivirus 2014 is installed on your computer and ready to use. You can now make the upgrade to Windows 8.1 and remain protected.

Thank you for using avast! Antivirus and recommending us to your friends and family. For all the latest news, fun and contest information, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Business owners – check out our business products.

Question of the week: I noticed you announced on Facebook that a brand new avast! program update is available. How do I get it?

Thanks for being our fan on Facebook. Indeed, we announced a new program update this week for avast! Free Antivirus, avast! Pro Antivirus, and avast! Internet Security to version number 7.0.1473. It’s the last program update before version 8 is released at the beginning of 2013. You can get the new version immediately by invoking the Program Update feature from within the avast! user interface. New users can get it by downloading from the avast! website.

Let me explain a little further: By default, avast! updates the engine and virus definitions automatically whenever a new version is available, but the program update is set to ask you first. You can choose to accept program updates automatically, just like the engine and virus definitions, by clicking on “Settings” then “Updates” and checking “Automatic update.”

Here’s what the Current Status of my avast! Internet Security looked like before I updated it. You can see there is a link to update on the right.

Another way to see it is in the Maintenance tab of your program. Click on “Update”, and you can check the current version of both the “Update engine and virus definitions” and the “Program.” You can manually update either by clicking on the green arrow. Normally, clicking on “Update Program” automatically updates both the program and the program engine and virus definitions.

We hope you enjoy the newest version of avast! Antivirus. If you have a question or comment about the new update, please visit our NEW PROGRAM UPDATE 7.0.1473 forum topic.